CDO World

Australia’s public sector leaders are seeking a space where reasoned and professional debate and collaboration about the work of public officials can occur.

Many are dealing with common issues such as alcohol and violence, obesity, ageing, youth unemployment and, most profoundly, economic transformation and the need to create new investment and employment opportunities. Officials are keen to learn about best practice and innovative solutions, from other Australian jurisdictions, and offshore.

There are tremendous opportunities from the rising middle class of Asia and the digital era; public sector leaders are wanting to understand how to exploit these opportunities for the benefit of Australia’s cities and regions.

Public sector executives are operating in a demanding and complex political, media and stakeholder environment, and doing it on declining budgets and reduced staffing, where they have to be smart and innovative about delivering better outcomes to their communities.

Change is now a constant in the public sector and executives need to effectively engage their stakeholders and staff in the transformation of their agencies and programs. They need a forum for thought leadership, as well as a place where the best strategies and tactics for effective transformation can be shared.
Leading Australia’s public agencies in a complex, fast-moving and demanding world requires intelligence and judgement, agility and resilience. Senior bureaucrats want to learn from peers and their personal experiences about what makes a great leader in this hugely dynamic space. There is also a hunger for advice from professionals and former secretaries and agency heads, who understand what it takes to be an effective leader in the public arena.

The public sector engages business and community to advise, supply and support many of its initiatives and an important feature of the site is to provide a space for leading partners to share their insights and experiences with senior executives of public agencies.

Many business and community leaders have strong understanding and experience of markets and community needs. There is a genuine heart felt desire to collaborate with public officials around public policy and regulatory development, as well as the challenging task of delivering front line services to an ever demanding citizenry.

The Mandarin is for public sector leaders and executives and the many stakeholders and suppliers interested in their work. We want The Mandarin to be the place that connects and helps public officials manage Australia better — for intelligent showcasing, discussion, collaboration and learning about public work and the people and many challenges behind it.

By providing a thoughtful and respectful venue for the discussion of policy, programs and public projects, The Mandarin enables dep